The present invention relates generally to garment hangers for use in a garment treatment apparatus or, more generally, for supporting garments in an enclosure.
A garment hanger may be used in a treatment apparatus of the type which is a freestanding or wall-mounted device. A garment hanger may also be used in a treatment apparatus of the type which may be a collapsible type for compact storage. The garment hanger, in either previous case, may be used before or after treatment for convenient storage of the garment within an enclosure, such as a closet. Optionally, a garment hanger may be solely for use for convenient storage.
A well known feature of garment hangers is a cross-member or bar bridging the shoulders of the hanger for supporting a skirt, trousers, shorts or other garment which may not conveniently be supported by the hanger shoulders. The bar may have mounted thereon a plurality of clamps or grips for securing these garments. One type of conventional clamp is a “pinch” clamp, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,517 to Sutton, which describes a variety of clamp which has a clamp end having a pair of opposed clamp or jaw members between which a portion of the garment is secured, and a handle portion having a pair of spaced apart handles. A spring or other means for providing clamping force biases the jaw members towards each other to create the clamping force necessary to retain a garment between inner surfaces of the jaw members. Pinching the handles toward one another causes the jaw members to open to receive or release a garment. The jaw members may also include inner surfaces having gripping surfaces or friction surfaces for improving grip on clothing items disposed therein.
Another type of garment clamp for use on a hanger is a clamp which operates on the same principle as a self-actuating or self-locking brake. A generally U-shaped channel is provided for receiving a garment, the opening of which faces downwardly so that the garment may be placed therein using an upward motion and removed therefrom using an opposite, downward. A hinged cam-like structure is located within the U-channel which hingedly retracts or moves aside when a garment is placed within the U-channel. Once a garment is in place, it becomes captured or secured by the cam-like structure, which tends to secure the garment by binding it against an opposing wall of the U-channel.
An example of a cam-actuated clamp as previously described may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,024 to Jenson, in which a hinged cam is rotatable through a predetermined arc, engaging the garment placed between the cam and an opposing fixed wall, thereby holding the garment in place against the force of gravity. It may be understood that the hinged cam becomes more effective the larger or heavier the garment, inasmuch as the locking force placed on it becomes greater as downward force on the garment is increased.
A second example of a cam-actuated clamp may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,435,859 to Whitman, in which a roller having an axle extending therethrough may be mounted on the garment clamp. The axle is offset from the center of the roller which causes the roller to behave in a cam-like fashion, that is, the exterior of the roller moves in an eccentric motion defining an arc. When a garment is placed within the U-shaped channel, the roller is momentarily displaced. When the garment is released by the user, the roller rotates into gripping engagement of the garment, both through the action of the garment and action of gravity on the roller.
A drawback of the foregoing devices is the lack of a graduated or stepped engagement of the garment by the clamp, which may result in an unacceptable grip on the garment by the clamp. In the present invention, an improved gripping and releasing arrangement provides for a secure engagement of the garment by the clamp. This graduated or stepped engagement is provided for by a specific arrangement of gripping ribs which vary over a range of height and distance from one another, in order to provide secure grip over a wide range of garment materials, weights and thicknesses.
A further drawback of the foregoing devices in a garment hanger is the lack of a convenient handle for releasing the cam's grip on the garment. Yet a further drawback of the foregoing devices in a garment hanger is the lack of use of a material in the clamp adequate to maintain a secure grip on the garment.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon a reading of the detailed description and a review of the accompanying drawings. Specific embodiments of the present invention are described herein. The present invention is not intended to be limited to only these embodiments.